Traditional kapana: Namibian street meat in strips grilled on the griddle with salt, chili and raw tomato sauce

Kapana is the street food of Windhoek, capital of Namibia, and of the Katutura neighborhood in particular, where the open-air market has dozens of metal sheets over fires and men turning strips of meat with long forks, shouting prices. It is bought by the piece, eaten standing, by hand, straight from the griddle, dipping the meat in the salt and chili mix and in the tomato sauce.

Namibia is cattle country, and the beef from the Kalahari desert is of excellent quality. Kapana uses cheap cuts, sliced into thin strips, and the only seasoning is the fire: the meat sears in seconds on the hot griddle and is seasoned afterward, at the table, with kapana spice, a mix of salt, chili, coriander and other spices that each vendor keeps as a secret, and with the raw sauce of tomato, onion, chili and vinegar.

At home, a cast-iron griddle or a very hot frying pan reproduces the market, and fat cake, the Namibian fried bread, or an ordinary roll, complete the snack. It is quick food, for conversation, made to be shared.

Recipe card

• Origin: Windhoek, Namibia
• Category: Grilled meat, street food
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation time: 15 minutes
• Cooking time: 10 minutes
• Serves: 4

Ingredients — meat and spice

• 800 g beef (rump, flank or sirloin) in thin 1 cm strips
• 1 tablespoon oil
• For the kapana spice: 2 tablespoons coarse salt, 1 tablespoon chili flakes, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 crumbled beef bouillon cube

Ingredients — sauce and bread

• 3 tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 fresh red chili, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt to taste
• Fat cakes (fried bread dough balls) or bread rolls to accompany

Method

1. Mix the kapana spice ingredients in a jar and set aside.
2. Mix the tomato, onion, chili, vinegar, oil and salt and let rest 10 minutes.
3. Heat a cast-iron griddle or large frying pan on high until it begins to smoke. Wipe on the oil with a cloth.
4. Spread the meat strips without crowding and grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side, turning with a fork, until charred outside and still juicy. Work in batches.
5. Remove to a board or paper, sprinkle a little of the spice and serve immediately, with the spice jar, the tomato sauce and the bread on the side, for everyone to season their own.

Tips and variations

• Very hot griddle and dry meat: kapana is seared, not cooked.
• Never season the meat beforehand: salt before the griddle draws out the juice.
• Homemade fat cake: bread dough in balls fried in oil until golden.
• On the barbecue, a cast-iron sheet over the coals is the closest to the market.
• Liver in strips is sold at the same stalls and makes a strong kapana.
• The tomato sauce can take a little lime juice and cilantro.
• Serve with a cold beer, as in Katutura.

Kapana is fire, salt and good meat, eaten by hand standing in the market. Make it on the cast-iron griddle, call people into the kitchen and serve straight from the board.